Despite the requests of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to have a full security assessment of polling sites around the country presented by Sunday, Afghan officials have indicated there could be a possible delay in the release of the report.
An Afghan security official speaking on condition of anonymity told TOLOnews that the delivery of the comprehensive election security assessment to the IEC would likely be pushed back beyond the Sunday deadline election officials gave to Tuesday of next week.
Reports on the security situation of polling centers in the southern, western and northern regions of Afghanistan were said to have been completed. However, assessments of threats in the central and eastern parts of the country remain unfinished, according to officials.
With only three months remaining before the elections, the IEC asked security institutions to submit updated reviews of the security conditions of polling centers around the country. Citing the need for preparations based on the present security environments around the country, the IEC told security officials that the assessments needed to be finalized by Sunday.
The spring Presidential and Provincial Council elections have been the dominating subject in both public and official discourse over the past year. The elections are seen as pivotal for Afghanistan, coming the same year as the NATO coalition withdraw and marking potentially the first democratic transition of Presidential power in Afghan history.
Yet Noor Mohammad Noor, the IEC spokesman, has still maintained that the reports should be delivered on time.
"We hope that the final security assessment will be sent according to the promises that were made to the Independent Election Commission," Noor said.
Meanwhile, head of the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) Mohammad Naeem Ayoubzada said any public setbacks related to election security could be problematic for the elections.
"If promises made in the media about securing the elections are neglected, it will create problems for the elections," he said.
One of the key issues the IEC and election advocate organizations have highlighted heading into the April vote is security, and how it could effect turnout and transparency.
The IEC referred a list of at least 7,000 polling stations to security officials roughly 14 months ago. Based on earlier assessments, security officials reported back that overall 259 of the centers were facing serious security threats.